>>> hi. i'm jessica yellen in orlando, florida. welcome to cnn's special "ballot bowl" coverage. our final run to the 2010 midterm elections. i'm here at a republican fund-raising rally and sarah palin is about to take the stage just a short time from now behind me. we're going to bring it to you live. first over to my friend ed henry in las vegas who had a big interview today. ed? >> reporter: thanks right. i'm ed henry in vegas. president obama was here with a big rally. 9,000 people here in las vegas for embattled senator harry reid. so much as stake. one of the premiere senate battles. fact of the matter, who wins this, sharron angle, tea party favorite, could determine the control of the senate next year. there's also a lot on the line for the president. harry reid has been one of his chiefless on capitol hill. helped pass health care reform, wall street reform. a lot on the line, a lot at stake for sure. a little new information, breaking political news. i spoke to two senior democrat sources this morning telling me senator reid's private internal phone numbers have him up

success of the florida primaries. what issues are they basing their decision on? >>> and president obama had to make a big decision when he made the call to go after obama. vice president joe biden shows the behind the scenes details on how that decision was made. this is "cnn saturday morning." i'm christi paul. so glad to have your company. let's start together here with the republican presidential race and the battle between newt gingrich and mitt romney in florida. take a look at this poll showing mitt romney with a nine-point lead. here's a significant thing with these numbers. just days earlier, the numbers were virtually reversed. newt gingrich was on top. today they're in florida trying to reach as many people as they can before tuesday's republican primary. let's go live to miami. peter, in your opinion based on what you know down there, has this turned into a two-man race down in florida? >> reporter: it actually has. partly because ron paul and rick santorum have decided not to race down here. after they were seen on the debate, mitt romney is the prohibitive favorite to win.

new york is unique, by the way, urban meyer, the former coach at florida. i think new york is unique. if there is anyone that can handle it is tim. he will handle everything up front and first class and humble about everything and probably a whole different animal in new york but he handles everything the same way. here is my but. college ball isn't nearly as scrutinized as pro, as nfl, is it? >> no, not at all. if you follow tim tebow's career, ever since he has been to the nfl, all of the people that he has grown up watching, all the quarterbacks that he admired growing up, all of these different stations and the pundits, they rip him and the fact he n overcome all of that, his idols not giving him much of a chance and him going out and doing it in the fourth quarter to me is very impressive. that's a skill that i think he can bring to the jets, that mental toughness that can take them to the next level. >> we shall see. i have seen pictures already around manhattan. i appreciate it. nice to meet you. thank you. now this. >>> all right. let's continue on here, hour two. top of the

his decisive win in the florida primary. romneymle campaigns in minnesota before heading west to las vegas. ron paul is on the campaign trail in vegas as well. he has a stop there next hour. and also next hour, rick santorum campaigning in colorado. and later, newt gingrich holding a rally in reno, nevada. >>> mitt romney's win in florida follows a brutal and bitter campaign already, but it paid off for romney who won by 46% of the vote compared to 32% for gingrich, and rick santorum got 13% of the vote as ron paul got 7%. on the starting point, mitt romney said it didn't bother him that newt gingrich didn't call to congratulate him. >> as said long ago, politics ain't bean bag, and we are battling to become the nominee, and he will do it the way he thinks is best, and i will do it the way i think is best. so far my process has given us a good start, and we will go on, but i am feeling good at this point. >> newt gingrich leaves florida defeated, and defiant. he didn't mention the supporters by name, but he said that he will stay in the race all of the way to the republican conventio

man who admits shooting martin. george howl ell is covering the latest on the investigation in florida. thank you for joining us. so many across the country over trayvon martin's death, but at what point does the outrage tip over into vigilante justice? >> we want justice! we want justice! >> in a new twist, members of the new black panther party are offering a $10,000 bounty for the capture of martin's shooter, george zimmerman. but zimmerman is not evading police. so far they haven't charged him. a national spokesman for the panthers denies that this is a call to violence. >> george zimmerman should have followed the police instructions and stayed in his car and shouldn't have took trayvon's life. >> do you feel that you're inciting violence by doing this and that may be a possibility from your actions? >> no, we're not. we're doing what american citizens have been doing for many years. we're doing a citizen's arrest. >> zimmerman claims he was acting in self-defense. his attorney is cautioning the public that all the facts aren't in yet. >> i hope there's a way to reign things in so

let's get straight to the news. we begin with stand your ground in the spotlight. right now florida governor rick scott is filling out a task force that will rethink the self-defense statute as we all came to know when george zimmerman killed trayvon martin in february. in 2005 florida led the way in giving citizens the right to use deadly force against threats they perceive not just in their homes, but almost anywhere. for his part, zimmerman is due back in court tomorrow for a bond hearing. >> and the oldest and most traveled space shuttle welcomed this hour at the museum where it will live out its days. more than 13 months after its final mission "discovery" on public display in a hangar near dulles airport in virginia. it's part of the national air and space museum, home to that stuff that won't fit in the building you've probably visited on the mall in d.c. "discovery" flew into dulles on tuesday and its sister shuttle "endevour" was bound for los angeles and "atlantis" kennedy space center in florida. we're following live pictures this morning. >>> after 38 seasons at the univ

covering first. it's debate night on cnn. jacksonville, florida, republican candidates take the stage at 8:00 p.m. eastern time. that is tonight and did you see the mayor put tacos and his foot in his mouth? that's right. >> what are you doing for the latino community today? >> i might have tacos when i go home. i'm not quite sure yet. >> that mayor now apologizing sort of. you know can decide for yourself if you think he's sincere or not. >>> and then a terrible accident or deliberate multiple murders. police say they can prove a man killed the women in his family for being too westernized. de pr. fast. beautiful. totally customizable. finds top performing stocks -- in three clicks. quickly scans the market for new trading ideas. it can even match options strategies to your goals and lets you see the potential risk and reward. and, it also comes with a dedicated elite service team. got it? get it. good. introducing new etrade pro elite. ♪ -three. -one. two. three. one. -two. -three. -one. -two. -three. [ male announcer ] with the bankamericard cash rewards credit card, earn 1% cash ba

demanding justice for the death of the unarmed florida teen. live in sanford, florida where george zimmerman shot martin in self-defense. you saw pictures there of the reverend al sharpton and a number of the protests, that one in new york. there are others across the country. holly, what's taking place there in sanford? >> well, basically, fredricka, the latest we heard is from former governor jeb bush. he was governor in 2005 when this stand your ground bill was written into law. that's the law that allows somebody, a civilian to use deadly force if they feel their life is threatened. now, in this case where george zimmerman has been claiming stand your ground, he says this is not exactly the case. this was not the intent. take a listen. >> it appears to me this law does not apply to this circumstance. stand your ground means stand your ground. it doesn't mean chase after somebody who has turned their back. >> now, in response police chief bill lee who has temporarily stepped down released a written statement on the city's website. he gave the reason they were using stand your gr

desz tin, florida. at 4:00 eastern time, how the oil spill is impacting the largest, most menacing inhabitants of the gulf, the sharks. and at 5:00 eastern time, this week's best viral videos. you're in the "cnn newsroom." i'm fredricka whitfield. >>> the gulf oil disaster is front and center with president barack obama right now. not only is he heading back to the region, he'll be talk directly to you and me about it this week. samantha hayes is in washington. p is the expected to address the nation on tuesday. what's he likely to say? >> reporter: fredricka, it's a whole week of high visibility. that is what the president wants to show coming up in he'll address the nation, visit with bp executives and go to the gulf for the fourth time since the spill. just today the obama administration outlined its plan for the compensation of oil spill victims by forcing bp to set aside a large pool of money. >> we're going to use all the legal authority that we have, and we believe that it's ultimately in their interest, as well, given the level of public outrage out there, but, yes, the pre

here in florida have been negative attack ads, kyra? >> so far everybody i talked to whether americans want them or not, they work. suzanne is back. >> i am back. >> d.c. was good? >> it was. >>> the adsds, the attacks, finally decision day voting under way in the biggest contest so far. gingrich has watched his momentum fade. he's not giving up, though polls show him trailing. gingrich is hoping to drum up last-minute support this horng in lakeland, florida. he visited a l pos precinct near orlando on the eve of the primary. he pledged to stay in the race. >> we'll beat a big lie campaign with a big truth campaign, beat money power with people power. we are going to go all the way to the convention and we are going to win in tampa, and we are going to be the nominee with your help of the republican party soinchts but if the polls are right mitt romney is likely to be the big winner, his healthy lead hasn't topped him from taking a few final shots. romney and his supporters have pounded gingrich the past week, a barrage of negative ads. he describes the campaign as desperate.

. >>> we want to take you right now to the criminal justice center in sanford, florida, to courtroom 5-d. we expect george zimmerman, the man who shot and killed trayvon martin, to walk into the courtroom any time. with him will be his attorney, mark o'mara handling this case pro bono asking the judge to post bond and to walk free heunl his second-degree murder case goes to trial. angela corey will fight to keep zimmerman in custody until trial. corey is known for her vigorous prosecutions and as you know, it was she at the florida governor's request to take zimmerman to trial. i don't need to tell you this is an emotionally charged case and the world will be watching this bond hearing. joining me this morning is criminal defense attorney and cnn legal analyst and contributor and a defense attorney and we also have our own martin savidge who is live in sanford, florida, this morning. thanks to all of you for being here this morning. let's start with you, mark. you have been in this courtroom many, many times. set the scene for us. what's happening? >> everybody is preparing. i think ther

just walked in because the doors were open. >>> in northern florida, interstate 75 is closed after a string of crashes overnight that killed at least nine people. officials tell us the highway will be closed in that area for most of today. the sheriff's office says visibility was poor because of smoke from a nearby brushfire. >>> all right, in just two days, florida's primary, most delegate rich contest so far. and candidate newt gingrich is heading into it with a new endorsement. >> i hereby officially and enthusiastically endorse newt gingrich for president of the united states! >> will herman cain's backing influence primary voters in the sunshine state? a live report straight ahead. >>> and now to the campaign trail, extending beyond florida. ron paul spent the weekend in maine where several towns are holding caucuses over the next several weeks. rick santorum did some fund raising in washington, d.c. yesterday, but skipped appearances today in florida to be with his young daughter who is being hospitalized in philadelphia. >>> newt gingrich and mitt romney, they're both campaign

. >>> focus shifts to florida and the race for the republican presidential nomination. all four candidates are on the campaign trail today. now, the primary in florida just eight days away. mitt romney stepping up his attacks on newt gingrich after a solid win by gingrich in south carolina over the weekend. romney is also now promising to release his tax returns tomorrow. >>> after cheating death and inspiring a nation with her fight for recovery, gabrielle giffords stepping down from congress. a year ago she was shot in the head while meeting with voters in an arizona shopping center as one of her last acts in office she plans to finish that event. she posted this message on website. >> i have more work to do on my recovery. so to do what is best for arizona, i will step down this week. ♪ >>> grief, tears, and regrets at penn state. students and alum gather last night for a candlelight vigil honoring the late joe paterno. the former head coach also known as joepa died from lung cancer at the age of 85. he was fired in noft over his handling of a child sex abuse scandal involving his for

. it's 1:00. we've got a busy hour ahead. let's get straight to the news. the florida primary underway. that means for you floridians, there's only six more hours to get your votes in, unless you're in the panhandle. you guys get an extra hour. the candidates are making their last-ditch efforts to get a few more votes and meet a few more voters. we have one more late poll to show you, this from the american research group shows romneys with a double-digit lead over newt gingrich. part of his advantage comes from early voter who is went his way more than 50% of the time. here's a reaction from gingrich, just a short time ago. >> mr. speaker, do you still see a path to the nomination? >> of course. >> how? >> unify the conservatives, you win the delegates, and then you have the nomination. >> freshman florida senator marco rubio is a very popular man these days. he's been mentioned as a possible vice presidential choice for whomever comes out on top. but he says, no way. >> my answer hasn't changed on that. i've answered it repeatedly. the fact is, i'm focused on my job here in the senat

to the news. >>> just three days until the florida primary and the top two tornados are t candidate s trying to reach as many as they can. supporters of each candidate launched tv ads attacking's other the integrity. meanwhile, mitt romney is attacking president obama's foreign policy record. >> i think he has a view that america is in decline and that the best course for america is to appease and accommodate the worst actors in the world. i'm not referring to him. you know, john. i'm talking about people like ahmadinejad and castro and chavez and kim jong-un and all the other people who threaten the world, and so he opens the hat to them. wrote a little note to ahmadinejad the other week. can we get together for a meeting? the foreign policy of pretty please is not working terribly well. >> ron paul left florida and is focusing on the upcoming maine caucuses while rick santorum is back in his home state of pennsylvania. >>> the arab league is out of the monitoring business in syria for now. too violent, too many people killed. too many people wounded. here's one of the reasons why.

closing. i'll show you where the race goes after florida with cnn's wolf blitzer at the bottom of the hour. >>> want to hang out with president obama? the president who held town halls on cyberspace and twitter and facebook? participants can comment in realtime. a few will be asked to participate in live conversation. it starts at 5:30 p.m. eastern and it's supposed to last about 45 minutes. >>> almost a year after syria cracked down on protesters, a resolution would require ten security council members are on board. russia is offering to host peace talks which damascus supposedly as accepted. the opposition has not. another 50 people reportedly killed in at least four syrian cities. afghanistan is reportedly planning peace talks with the taliban. that could happen in saudi arabia separately and before the expected contracts with washington. those are planned through an office the taliban is opening in qatar. >>> a tense situation going on in washington between occupy protesters and police. a no camping rule is being enforced. these are live pictures here at two parks where occupy proteste

state of florida. >> tropical storm isaac picking up steam. now florida is bracing for a hurricane. we'll take you there live. >>> and politics are no match for mother nature as isaac moves north. the republican convention is under threat with some events already canceled. >>> that's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind. >> mankind loses a legend. the life, the career, the inspiration of neil armstrong. >>> good morning, everyone, i'm randi kaye. it is 7:00 on the east coast. 4:00 a.m. out west. thank you very much for starting your morning with us. florida is under a state of emergency right now. tropical storm isaac racing toward the florida keys after trashing haiti and killing at least two people this. isaac could become a hurricane by the time it moves across the keys and into the gulf of mexico, possibly within hours. governor scott says florida knows what it has to do to get prepared. the keys, they've already started battening up the hatches. even as delegates arrived at the airport, the republican national convention is not taking any chances. it will open as

tampa, florida. it is primary day. i'm brooke baldwin. reporter roulette admittedly has a decidedly political tone today for obvious reasons, so let's go. >>> we've got the state of florida to cover for you. i want to begin with john zarrella live at a polling place not too far from where i am. john zarrella, you're talking to voters. what are they telling you? >> very good turnout here today, brooke. they expect maybe countwiywide, about 40% voters. a lot of them are telling me, we want the guy who will beat barack obama. but then when you get past that, we're hearing both sides, some people saying newt gingrich, others saying mitt romney. so it's going to be interesting to see how that shakes out here, and this is the largest republican precinct, precinct 701, in hillsborough county. about 3800 registered republicans here. brooke? >> we know that the republican party, it's penalizing florida for having its primary today, january 31st. tell me a little bit more about that as i hear you laugh, john zarrella. >> you know, four years ago, the state moved up the presidential primaries

florida to protest the killing of trayvon martin. one group of demonstrators left from an atlanta church this morning headed to the rally tonight in sanford, florida. >> his mother wanted him to understand the importance of being educated, being responsible, to understand what life holds for him if he doesn't carry himself the right way. >> i feel like trayvon martin is a piece of everyone on this bus, you know what i'm saying? just because he was killed in that rude way, he's not arrested, it means no justice is being brought. so that's what we're going to go do. >> what are they hope something going to come out of this and what motivates someone to get on a bus, ride for hours, take a stand for a young man they don't even know? and derri derrick. they're on the bus on the way to florida. you took two days off to get on the bus. why are you doing this? what motivated you? >> are you talking to me? >> yes. >> this is deandre. in a real sense the past few days listening to the 911 recording and hearing that young man's plea and cry out for help, i literally heard my own son calling

custody just hours from a court hearing. sanford, florida, urging calm and healing today. >>> firestorm. democratic strategist hillary rosen and attack on mitt romney's wife. >> his wife has actually never worked a day in her life. she's never dealt with the kinds of economic issues that a majority of the women in this country are facing. >> has rosen gone too far? we'll ask her live. >>> extreme flooding. cars buried by water. texas getting hammered by hail the size of golf balls. we're tracking where the storm is heading next. >>> were we taken for a ride? the department of justice throwing the ebook at apple accusing the computer giant of pumping up price these charge us for ebooks. the government says the winners in publishers and losers would be you. >>> new information this morning about former arkansas coach bobby petrino and his motorcycle mistress. >>> 6,000 ways to say no. ♪ >> axl rose in a lengthy 16 paragraph letter to the rock 'n' roll hall of fame says thanks but no thanks requesting he not be inducted. "newsroom" begins right now. >>> this morning we beg

republican primary in florida. the clock counts down, and of course the gloves come off. >> if you've ever tried to hire someone for a job, you look at not just what they say, but also what they have done. and what their record is. and his record was one of failed leadership. we don't need someone who can speak well, perhaps, or who can say the things we agree with but does not have the experience of being an effective leader. >> i am in fact the legitimate heir of the reagan movement. not some liberal from massachusetts. >> well, mitt romney has surged ahead in the race. and a win in florida could be pretty critical. cnn political editor paul stein haweshaus hauser is in tampa. >> we have four polls out over the past 36 hours, and they all indicate the same thing, that mitt romney is up by double digits over newt gingrich along people likely to vote in that primary tomorrow. take a look at the most recent out about two hours ago. you can see right there mitt romney with about a 14-point lead. 43% are backing him. 29% say they are backing gingrich. you see santorum and paul both furth

forward to working with senator reid whenever possible. >>> snow in florida. it seems no place is safe from this brutal cold spell that has teeth chattering nationwide. in a state known for its sunshine, freezing temperatures have people scrambling to stay safe and warm. martin savage is live in plantation, florida, for us tonight. martin, you look pretty chilly there. >> reporter: it was just yesterday that i was freezing in st. louis, where it really was cold. but the cold that you're finding here in south florida tonight is just so much more strange. what i mean by that is it is so unexpected, the sights you see and when you talk to people, they describe it as historic. what they mean by that is not that it is so severely cold. they had cold snaps before, it is that it has been cold for so long now. nearly a week. and every day it has gotten progressively worse. tonight will be the real test. and for many people, that test is going to be is it going to freeze? here is something you hardly ever hear of done here in south florida. they have a windchill advisory that goes into eff

areas to voluntary evacuate. so before louisiana, there is still south florida in play right now. and other parts of florida along the west coast that are keeping a close watch. we have correspondents spread across the state following isaac. as it moves in. so let's go to the florida keys which seems maybe it has dodged the bullet. that's where we find cnn's john zarrella. john, you got a break from isaac in terms of being relatively calm right now. but no one's really gone out to really assess completely. we just know there is standing water in some areas, right? >> yes, no question about it. when you talk about the keys, you're talking about 100 miles of just a chain of islands all connected by a series of causeways, series of bridges, small spits of land and certainly over years when you've had hurricanes approaching from either direction, whether it was from the west or the east towards the florida keys you get overwash, a lot of debris that washes up. you get flooding in the low-lying areas. this storm approaching certainly on the atlantic side. they had more wind and rain and a

prove it again in florida. >> three state, three winners. next stop, florida, where mitt romney still has a commanding lead according to the latest poll. wolf blitzer, gloria and john king will be here in a moment to talk about it. but first, two people that are very happy with the results. i spoke with newt gingrich's daughters, jackie and cathy. ladies, judging by the big grins on your faces, you're pretty happy down there. >> we're thrilled to be here in south carolina. >> it's a great place to be tonight. >> i bet it is. what an amazing turn around for your father. i've spoken to him a few times and he was dead on arrival in the summer. he made this amazing comeback. then he was like the has been who had blown his chance. now he's the front-runner. how do you feel? >> very excited. i think what it proves to everybody, the american people, i think he's like the energizer bunny. he goes on and on and on. he's very persistent and that's one of the things we love about him. >> it seemed to me that his fortunes seemed to change rather dramatically when he stopped being saint newt

morning. >>> tropical storm isaac is now a hurricane and florida is bracing for it. >>> and politics no match for isaac as he moves north, the republican convention is under threat, and some events are cancelled. >> one small step for man and one giant leap for mankind. >> mankind loses a legend, a life and career and inspiration of neil armstrong. >>> good morning, everyone. i'm randi kaye and it is 8:00 on the east coast and 5:00 a.m. out west, and thank you for starting the morning with us. we begin with tropical storm isaac who has already killed two people in haiti where the streets are rivers. now the storm is barreling toward florida just in time for the republican national convention in tampa. it is throwing a wrench into the rn c's carefully planned schedule. monday's big opening events are on hold and more on that in a moment. isaac could strengthen into a hurricane as it crosses the florida keys possibly as soon as tonight. heavy rains are expected all through today. we are covering isaac at all angles and bonnie schneider is at the cnn weather center and paul steinhouse ser

going to do moving forward and what will he do to the state of florida? he addressed what he called the deficit of trust with the federal government, he's trying to show i'll help create jobs, it's my number one priority, i'm in tune with the american people, that's why he's gathering the town hall. this is the venue that he performs very well, he connects with people very well. but the other thing he's going to do, he'll use this opportunity to announce he's giving florida federal dollars, federal funds to create a high-speed rail. this is something -- a project that two lay about 85 miles of track, between here, where we are, tampa, and orlando, with some stops in between. it would allow the train to travel more than 160 miles per hour. florida officials have asked for $2.6 billion for the project. they don't expect they're going to get that much, perhaps half of it, but they say, ali, it's going to create up to 23,000 construction jobs here in the state. so, it's a very big deal. you talk to the folks here, it's a big deal to get the federal dollars. it's part of a larger initiat

. top of the hour. now this. >>> here we go, our two live from beautiful tampa, florida. the skyline over my shoulder. i'm brooke baldwin. day before the big republican primary here in florida. couple stories we're watching. first, newt gingrich says he is in it for the long haul. also the senate today taking up insider trading and occupy protesters scanned their ground. time to play reporter roulette. we want to go to joe johns who is not too far from me in tampa covering the newt gingrich campaign. as i understand, you just caught up with the candidate and one of his major supporters. what did they say? >> well, interesting, i just talked to him a little while ago, newt gingrich, and i got to tell you, brooke, the big question for the former speaker of the house is, what are you going to do once you get out of florida? there's been a lot of talk here on this day about how he didn't seem to have an answer as all the attacks of the romney campaign came from just a variety of sources, from television ads, from sort of a lackluster appearance in the debate, from a newspaper ad, from su

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and newt gingrich are in the sunshine state, florida, three days before that state's primary. we'll give you the candidates' events live throughout the day. florida is a big prize, with 50 delegates up for grabs in a winner-take-all contest. it's time to turn to cnn political reporter peter hamby who's live in plantation, florida, a suburb just west of ft. lauderdale. >> reporter: they are not letting up on newt gingrich. i've got to tell you, every television ad i've seen has been negative and most of them have within negative from romney or his allies against newt gingrich. today they're out with a brutal new ad that's sat rating air waves here. it features tom brokaw talking for 30 seconds in a news clip from 1997 after the house voted to sanction gingrich when he was speaker. take a look at this ad that's running here, gary. >> tonight he has on his own record the judgment of his peers, democrat and rip alike, by an overwhelming vote they found him guilty of ethics violations. they charged him a very large financial penalty and they raised -- several of them raised several quest

their travel plans. president barack obama campaigns in florida tomorrow. that's away from the storm. and mitt romney has canceled rallies in virginia. he'll be in ohio instead. i want you to take a look at this young lady. this is amanda rubio, the 12-year-old daughter of florida senator marco rubio. she'll spend the night in a miami hospital after a golf cart accident today. she has a head injury and is in fair condition. her dad, the senator, was campaigning with mitt romney when he got the news and headed immediately to miami. >>> we have a lot more planned for you this saturday night. here's what else we're working on. ridiculous rhetoric. >> explain to me why retard is inappropriate. >> from ann coulter to donald trump rn trump, the partisan election blather explodes. we take a stand. the poll, so many of them, who do they call? my cell phone or land line, should we believe them? we have of questions for the pollster who knows it all. >>> here comes sandy, the massive hurricane barreling up the east coast heading straight towards the biggest city, new york, philadelphia, boston

. >>> and tyler perry shines a light on the case of two florida men who disappeared without a trace years ago. >>> we begin with the fiery crash of a navy jet into apartments in virginia. good news is three people who were missing have now been accounted for. sandra endo is live. you have good news. rescues were going door to door as this fire raged. >> reporter: absolutely, randi. it's a very active scene. investigation is ongoing. we have dramatic video moments after the crash. take a look and listen in as well. >> one more. >> police. >> anyone in here? get out? any pets spets? any pets? >> reporter: part of firerescuetv.com. that retired firefighter showing the scene right after the crash. you can see the smoke and flames billowing out of the apartment complex. five buildings were hit in this crash. we're talking about 40 units, and it's remarkable when you see this. new dramatic video that there have been no fatalities so far. only seven injuries and out of those seven injuries, six have already been treated an released from the hospital. you can also see, rehandi, portions of

. just hours away from south florida. but the greater danger lies just beyond the area of the gulf oil spill. it is day 95 of that disaster and the government orders ships to return to shore, bp suspends work on digging the relief well. and so what's that all mean for us? efforts to permanently seal the leak could be pushed back by ten days or even more. the national hurricane center issued a tropical storm watch for the northern gulf of mexico coastline and it is a watch that stretches from morgan city, louisiana, eastward to destin, florida. reynolds wolf here with a closer look. >> the storm is poorly defined. it is easy to see here right here. enlarge this image. you see the deep convection north of miami. winds are sustained at 40 miles per hour. it has been gusting a bit stronger, though. to 50 miles per hour. the center is about 82 miles of miami, florida. now you have rain in miami. center of circulation 82 miles from that point. now, to be more specific, here is what we have. ft. lauderdale, southward to miami, south miami hieights, wht we anticipate the storm will fluctuate i

florida we told you about this yesterday before the northeastern fires broke out, the county line fire near jacksonville continues to burn as do some brush fires around volusia county. dense smoke coming out of that fire as winds don't whip in that direction. as we mentioned go to the graphics and show you some highlighted tidbits. warmest march on record and first three months of this year, are the warmest start for the u.s.. over 15,000 warm temperature records during the month of march. look at these winds yesterday. 60 mile-per-hour winds in high point, new jersey. sandy hook, new jersey seeing 54 mile-per-hour winds. that with the bone dry conditions caused the problems. we have conditions similar to yesterday, gusts 20 to 30 miles per hour from new york city to carolinas. red polygamy warnings posted. fire danger will be high in these areas. we have very, very low levels of humidity as well. that's an issue. we also have severe threat today. we saw some tornadoes yesterday and softball size hail out of western parts of oklahoma. this is a storm chaser track down this tornado whic

tiger woods in an accident and in serious condition from an accident near his home in florida. this is his home, this is tiger woods home according to our affiliate, this is according to the police report where the accident took place. we are waiting for more news on the condition of tiger woods, but we have got, according to -- with are hearing now news in that he has got lacerations, facial lacerations, cuts, hard to determine from the police report what serious injuries mean. but we are looking at pictures of tiger woods home. this is on deacon circle in florida. this is his home and this is hi parentally very close to where the accident took place. here's what i've got, we have got the police report right here. i'm going to tell you what it says, it's from the florida highway patrol. it does say that the accident took place or the report, the time on the report is 2:25 p.m. so a little over 12 hours ago. in orange. the report says that tiger woods was in a 2009 cadillac suv. it says that his injuries are serious in the box where it asks whether the next of kin have been notified

then back to iowa, then back to ohio and then on to florida and virginia. so basically what is going on, fredricka, this race is so tight, and because none of these states can be taken for granted, that you have both of these campaigns furiously just trying to line up the states that they need in order to get to that magic number of 270 electoral votes. and i can tell you that just talking to a republican campaign operative here in nevada, that, you know, it is unlikely that either one of these candidates will win both colorado and nevada. that that's not really what a lot of campaign experts think at this point, but obviously they're going to try their best. it is really all at this point about lining up these states. if you can't win ohio, try to get iowa, wisconsin, nevada, you know. it is all sort of going into the math and being sorted out in that fashion at this point, fredricka. >> jim acosta, thanks so much. appreciate that. let's bring in our john king. he's in washington right now. so, john, you know, quite the strategy for the president who is crisscrossing so many states

a clear indication yet where it will make a direct hit in the united states but florida could dodge the bullet, instead, just brushing by isaac. but new orleans may now be in isaac's sights. we have correspondents spread across the region. you see along the florida coast in particular and all wait down to the caribbean for starters where isaac first started to touch land. isaac right now, however, is lashing the florida keys right now. that's where we find cnn's john zarrella. gosh, it looks calm right now even though the water is moving rapidly. describe what's happening. >> that's right. we're watching this storm. it's been moving so fast, i think around 20 miles an hour or more now. we're beginning to wonder if the center of the storm is already -- is a lot closer to us or over us now. you're right, a couple of hours ago, the waves were crashing all along here, a lot of white caps on in protected inlegality here. the buoys were going and all those sailboats in this protected harbor area, also bobbing around and feeling it. the wind and the rain, much stronger a couple of hours ag

south carolina in a big way. now mitt romney needs to bounce back in florida. it's going to be an interesting week on the campaign trail. cnn's political director tells us what he can expect. >>> first, if you're a parent looking to send your child to a charter school, where do you begin and how do you pick the best one? here's some helpful tips from education contributor steve perry. >> reporter: i know that a charter school is founded privately, and i want to know what is the best way to research my family's needs? >> some charter schools are run by the district. there are some schools run by teachers unions. but in the event you're asking the question how to pick the best one for you, you can't do it justice by researching it online. you need to walk the school. go during the school day and not just when they have open houses. you have to get to know the people in the academic community. listen to how they discipline the kids in the school. look at the arts program. if they have sports or don't, you have to ask the questions that are important to you. put together a list and go

belacose, as not ready, and we expect president obama is going to be doing that tonight here in florida. >> one of the other big issues likely to come up tonight is iran. over the weekend i see your "times" article saying the u.s. and tehran had agreed to one-on-one talks about iran's nuclear program after the election. u.s. will deny that. a lot of people might say what's wrong -- regardless, can the president make the case that his strategy on iran is working or does this give mitt romney an opening? >> you know, the answer may be yes to both of those. obviously president obama would make his case that these are the toughest sanctions ever, and that they have been working. you just look at iran's economy. you look at the value of iran's currency, which has plummeted, and he can say the sanctions are working, but, obviously, governor romney can say they're not really shifting iran to changing its behavior. even if everyone expects that ultimately iran moves towards talks, he can say that there's really no evidence showing that they are changing their behavior at this point, so they can

harlow, tracking those numbers and prices for us, thank you so much. >>> live to orlando, florida. looks like casey anthony's mother has taken the stand again. you're looking at live pictures. we will take you there right after the break. [ female announcer ] the healing power of touch just got more powerful. introducing precise pain relieving heat patch. it blocks pain signals for deep relief precisely where you need it most. precise. only from the makers of tylenol. yet an instant classic." with sports car styling and power, plus the refinement and space of a luxury sedan, the jaguar xf is a timeless blend of performance and craftsmanship. see how jaguar outperforms the competition at jaguarperforms.com or visit your local jaguar dealer. i don't have to leave my desk and get up and go to the post office anymore. ♪ >>> take you straight to orlando, florida. live pictures now. of casey anthony and her mother cindy both in tears. let's listen in. >> still have the skirt. i haven't worn it. i don't recall raring it after that. it was kind of like not popular after that. >> okay. i'd like

staff and turns back his schedule. he's still in it to win it. >>> nationwide outrage over a florida teenager's killing may not have been so fever pitched if local police had charged the shooter the night it happened. they wanted to do just that. why didn't they? >>> the rocky mountain wildfire that won't let up. more lives, homes and property lost. hundreds of firefighters from across the country are coming in to help get that fire under control. and from basketball legend to baseball owner, the l.a. dodgers might be calling magic johnson the boss. >>> we begin this morning with much more information on about the captain who had a mid flight meltdown. we have more information on who the pilot is and the jetblue passengers who pounced on him when he unleashed this terrifying rant. >> a federal law enforcement official identified the jetblue pilot as clayton. he's flown with jetblue for just under a dozen years. it also shows osbon graduated with a bachelor's degree in physics. his neighbors in savannah, georgia, say they're shocked. >> wow. this is -- i just don't know what to think.

, astrazeneca may be able to help. >>> the president has 29 new electoral votes today. florida's! it's not because the results are actually official, i'm sorry to say. it's just because mitt romney's team finally just conceded the state. but the count continues there today. three days since the election. maybe they regret cutting early voting days from 14 days to 8. maybe they don't. regardless, voters waited hours. hours upon hours in lines that meandered for blocks. ballots upwards of ten pages were the longest in the state's history. i watched as one voter actually fainted in the hot sun, waiting hours without any shade, just to cast her vote. the president was declared a winner, and floridans were still waiting to vote. is this moral? is it legal? is there a head that needs to roll or several? the president said officials need to, quote, fix it. and he said it in his victory speech. miami-dade's county mayor jimenez admitted on our show yesterday, everyone needed answers and things had to change. >> without a doubt, we had some operational issues that we have to take care. we are -- i'

to washington in just a few minutes. >>> in northern florida, it looks like the aftermath of a bombing. look at these pictures. but these vehicles were actually incinerated by fire after a string of crashes on interstate 75. ten people lost their lives in the wreck. drivers say they could barely see anything because of smoke from a nearby fire. >> there was absolutely no warning whatsoever. it went from being just, i mean literally i don't know how far, whatever you could see as far as you could on the interstate to just nothing. rolled my window down and actually started hearing thuds and crashes and it was so thick i couldn't even tell you where they were coming from. >> well, almost nine months after the u.s. raid that killed osama bin laden, defense secretary leon panetta says he's convinced someone in pakistan's government knew the terrorist leader was hiding in a huge compound near pakistan's military academy. in a cbs "60 minutes" interview, panetta also discussed a local doctor who played a key role in helping the u.s. verify bin laden's presence. pakistan is considerin

election coverage once again. dominating florida, some might look at the comments that he made, certainly to our soledad o'brien. he told soledad, i'm not concerned about the very poor. she pressed on it. let's listen to what she said and then i want to ask you about it. >> my campaign is focused on middle-class americans. you can focus on the rich, that's not my focus. you can focus on my very poor. that's not my focus. my focus is on middle-income americans, retirees living on social security, people who can't find work. folks that have kids getting tr ready to go to college. >> is this going to spell trouble for him? >> he said it inartfully. he tried to explain what he meant and he probably could have done a much better job explaining. he said, as far as the middle class, they need a lot of help. a lot of people are struggling. the rich are doing just fine. when he said he's not concerned about the poor, what he said later in explaining the context of what he meant to say, was there a lot of programs that the government has right now, a safety net for poor people, whether food stamps

a lot of talk about florida's stand your ground law. it allows someone to use force any time they feel that there could be harm to themselves or someone else. zimmerman's attorney says it probably didn't apply in this case but now he is changing his tune. what is the lawyer saying now about the stand your ground law? at first he said it's self-defense and it doesn't apply. is he changing his tune? >> the attorney says, after reviewing the stand your grand law, he believes that is the best way to protect his client if, indeed, his client is arrested. we heard from governor rick scott talking about the law, a subject of great discussion. take a listen to what he had to say this morning. >> you know, i'm going have different elected officials and appointed individuals. the first thing we're going to do is do a thorough investigation. no one can imagine this happening to their family. we have dwot to find out exactly what's going to happen. the florida health department is doing a great job knowing what happened. and make sure that justice prevails. we have to do that. >> so you remem

, however, is still not certain but it looks like florida may avoid a direct hit. that's good news for florida but now forecasters warn isaac is zeroing in on the gulf coast, possibly new orleans, louisiana. and forecasters say by the time isaac hits the coast, it will be a hurricane, possibly a powerful one. we have our team covering this storm. let's begin in key west with jim spelman who joins us there, already feeling the outer band of this storm. let us know what's happening there. >> reporter: yeah, hey, fredricka. we saw a band go through here for about 45 minutes, really intense heavy rain. that's let up a little bit. wind are still howling. they're really preparing for more of a rain event and possibly a storm surge one to four feet. it will come in right there way, from the south right in to key west. there were some surfers out here earlier. they've even gone in now at this point. most of the seaside hotels like this have moved people to other parts of the complex or hotels on other parts of the island to keep them a little bit safer. the main precaution is trying to get vis

hurricane warning in effect for the u.s. mainland for parts of florida. it's from bonita shores to florida bay. it includes the keys. a hurricane watch north of there. as we take a closer look at what's happening now with the storm, a piece of energy is pounding south florida right now. we are getting very heavy rain. we can show you a live picture of miami at this hour. wind and rain is hitting the region. heavy rain and the frequent lightning strikes hammering the key west area. look how narrow and skinny the keys are. this is just the beginning. the storm works closer to the keys. right now, the maximum winds are at 60 miles per hour. gusts are close to hurricane force. the storm is on the move as we look toward the rest of the weekend. tomorrow, we'll talk impacts on south florida, especially the keys. the storm is scurrying cuba. this uncertainty reflects whether the storm will push to the north or south. as we go through the next days whether or not it will move to the west. notice tampa is still in the cone of uncertainty. we are looking at a category one tuesday with the republican

before florida voters choose. >>> a presidential race that's breaking all the rules. comes to a state that wrote the book on election cliffhangers. >> you're are in florida. >> that's how important florida is. >> only one thing is certain in this contest. expect the unexpected. >> you have three candidates who have won three primaries. >> you're going to have to make a decision. which of the three should become your nominee? i think you know. >> tonight, the candidates together in jacksonville, florida. newt gingrich, the south carolina winner, hoping to capitalize on his recent victory, and his strong record in debates. >> it's not that i am a good debater. it is that i articulate the deepest felt values of the american people. >> mitt romney, the new hampshire winner, trying to run his appeal and reclaim the title of front-runner. >> we're not choosing a talk show host. we're choosing the person who should be the leader of the free world. >> rick santorum. the iowa winner. looking for a new burst of momentum after his upset in the heartland. >> there was one race that was in nobody'

know a lot more tomorrow. we have complete coverage of tonight's big florida primary is this evening. right now it's time for "cnn newsroom." kyra phillips is back. >>> thanks so much. so far this election season there have been three republican contests and three different winners. today that line is drawn in the florida sand. voting underway in the state's all important primary. the last polls remain open nearly 11 more hours. and for the candidates, the stakes are huge. 50 delegates are up for grabs. the largest haul yet. the winner takes all of them and seizes momentum as the clear-cut front-runner. so if the polls are right, mitt romney could be coasting to an easy win. cnn's john zarella is at a polling place in tampa. john's, how's the turnout been? >> reporter: real good. this is actually the largest republican precinct in hillsboro county, the tampa area. about 3800 registered republicans here, and turnout has been very good this morning. a lot of people going before work. a lot of families coming before dropping off their kids at school. so quite a good turnout. there's 232

time. we begin with five days until florida's republican presidential primary and just hours from the cnn debate there. mitt romney and newt gingrich are locked in a dead heat in the polls. this debate could be a game changer. the votes the candidates want right now, latinos. the ads prove it. joe johns is live in mount dora. he's calling romney the most anti-immigration candidate. >> reporter: that's absolutely right, kyra. it's very interesting to watch as that develops. senator marco rub yes who's sort of a favorite son of florida actually chaz tiesed gingrich for putting that radio ad out saying it was inaccurate. gingrich saying last night in a press media availability here in florida that he pulled the ad because he did it out of respect for mark yes rubio. that sort of gives you a sense of the dividing lines here in the state. mitt romney, you would think he's a guy that would have an uphill battle because of his statements on immigration, but the fact of the matter is mitt romney in many ways is better organized here on the ground. he spent four years cultivating a relatio

east coast from florida to virginia. >>> amazing new pictures this hour. an eye popping eruption you have got to see. "newsroom" begins right now. >>> taxpayer outrage this morning is growing over the millions of dollars seemingly squandered by unanimous bureaucrats. right now the second hearing in two days. they are facing questions about their lavish convention in las vegas. a rewards program that gave employees ipods and gift cards worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. and a hawaii trip for some spending up to a week there for a ribbon cutting that lasted a mere hour. senior congressional correspondent dana bash is on capitol hill. yesterday we saw some pretty outraged lawmakers and apologetic witnesses. anything new coming out today? >> reporter: we are already seeing some fire big-time in the hearing. it started already about a half hour ago. i want you to listen to a very upset republican chair of the house transportation subcommittee. >> i'm here to tell you the buck stops here. we're not going to hold up any longer. the american public demands to see the budget on the publi